Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart talk about Jumanji, Jodie Whittaker says the new Doctor Who is very

ambitious, Michael Palin reveals that filming in North Korea was difficult, and Harry Styles performs live in the

studio

On tonight’s show (6th December), Graham welcomes Hollywood star Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, comedy star Kevin Hart, The Doctor herself Jodie Whittaker, national treasure Sir Michael Palin, and singer songwriter Harry Styles.

Dwayne, talking about the billion dollar grossing movie Jumanji: The Next Level, in which he stars with Kevin, says, “The first movie was amazing – it really took off. With the success of that, we wanted to come back even bigger for part two so we all committed to each other that the story would be right and that the creativity would expand the Jumanji universe.”

Kevin, talking about playing an avatar in the film, says, “The thought of it is challenging, but when you embrace the idea, it’s actually more fun than anything and we had the opportunity to elevate the first movie we did. The challenge was to come back and outdo that success.”

Asked about watching the finished film, Kevin says, “It’s unbelievable. Everyone brought their A-game to it,” adding, “I prefer green screen to actual animals – I have a certain respect for them because we don’t know what they are thinking!”

Dwayne interjects, “It’s a fear. He is terrified of camels!”

Jodie, talking about filming Doctor Who in South Africa, says, “Unbeknownst to me, the crew was filming a huge sac spider, and no one told me how terrifying and dangerous it was, and it crawled down my face and inside my costume – I absolutely bricked it and can’t repeat what I said. I found out after that I could have died! It was horrific.”

Asked about the plot and the size and scale of the new season of the long-running show, she says, “I can’t tell you much, but it’s very ambitious and kicks

off with a two-parter, with the first part on New Year’s Day. It is really exciting and it’s great to have the team back together. I can also tell you that Stephen Fry and Lenny Henry are part of the ensemble. With the show everything is a secret, so you’re getting nothing else!”

Talking about being the Doctor and the fame it brings, she says, “It’s an interesting thing and it’s all over the world and you have this weird narcissism thing where you think everyone is watching you. The most embarrassing thing happened to me yesterday on the tube. I was standing on the platform with my empty reusable cup and an elderly gentleman walked towards me and put his arm into my space and I was like, ‘What are you doing?’ He said sorry and explained he was trying to put some money in my cup! He had no idea who I was!”

Michael joins Graham for a chat.

Taking about his recent knighthood, he says, “I thought a lot of stick would be coming down from the fellow Pythons. John (Cleese) was a bit embarrassed because he had turned one down ages ago, and (Terry) Gilliam sent a very nice message saying, ‘Congratulations for being ‘knitted’, just in time for Christmas.’”

Asked about the issues of filming his new TV series, Michael Palin in North Korea, he says, “It was very difficult setting up and we had to have approvals on everything. We wanted to see people in real environments, which was a hard battle to win. We were watched by a ring of minders who made sure we didn’t see things we shouldn’t see. They wanted to see everything we filmed, but actually didn’t ask to cut anything – they were quite relaxed by the end.”

Talking about how he introduced himself to his Korean guide, he says, “She knew nothing about the outside world and wanted to know what I did at home, so I showed her a video of the Monty Python Fish Slapping Dance. She thought it was very funny but was very concerned as to whether the fish was alive or dead – she didn’t seem worried that I had fallen 15 feet into the water and almost drowned!” In a TV exclusive, Harry performs his new single Adore You live in the studio before joining Graham for a chat about his new album and upcoming world tour.

And finally, Graham pulls the lever on more foolhardy audience members brave enough to sit in the Big Red Chair.

The Graham Norton Show, BBC One, Friday 6th December 10.40pm.

Pictures are available from Press Association.

Notes to editors – All quotes in this release were said during the recording of the show but won’t necessarily appear in the final version.

Next week (13th December) Graham’s guests include Dame Judi Dench, Jennifer Hudson, Hugh Grant, Matthew McConaughey, Michael Bublé and Coldplay.

For further information please contact Mary Collins 07769 670516 or at mary@marycollins-pr.com 

6th December 2019